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Disadvantages

A lovely fruit tea from Clipper

I've had a good, but long and stressful week this week, so it's nice to be able to sit down and have a bit of a break between friends' and family members' birthdays, as well as all my university classes and homework I have to do. Since I've given up caffeine as much as possible, instead of coffee or regular tea I am often to be found sitting on the sofa in my room with a cup of fruit or herbal tea in hand when I'm not overly busy, or sitting at my desk with one, going over translations and essays. Since this involves a lot of my time, I drink a lot of tea, and so have tried to get as many different varieties as possible so that I don't get bored of any of them. One of my current (or 'currant', ha ha ha) favourites is this blackcurrant and acai berry flavoured infusion from Clipper.

=== What is Acai Berry? ===

Acai berry is an ingredient that has become rather popular of late due to its supposed remarkable health benefits. Grown in South America, acai berries are meant to be great for weight loss as well as general wellbeing due to their high flavonoid and antioxidant levels, and acai can now be found in supplements and weight loss powders. It is something that I have not tried outwith this tea and Innocent smoothies, however, so is not something about which I can detail lots of personal experience.

== The Taste of This Tea ==

Since I'm not familiar with the taste of acai berry, I don't know how strongly this flavour came through, but I do know that the blackcurrant was very prominent. This tea reminded me of a less sweet version of blackcurrant Ribena, but tasted fresher and healthier than that comparison would suggest. The flavour was nice and strong if you left the teabag in for longer than a couple of minutes, but was still pleasant and subtle if you steeped it for a shorter time.

=== Price and Availability ===

I bought a box of this tea containing 20 tea bags from Waitrose in Edinburgh, but it and other Clipper teas seem to be fairly widely available in supermarkets, food/beverage shops and online. I paid £1.69 for a box in Waitrose, but it will cost you slightly more at £1.89 if you buy directly from the Clipper website. I'd be surprised to have to pay more than £2 for it anywhere.

== Thoughts & Conclusion ==

I really enjoy this tea and, as I said earlier, it is one of my current favourites. It's not massively sweet but it is nice and fruity and I find it to be a pleasant and tastier alternative to traditional tea. I would highly recommend this tea to all of you, especially to anyone who's trying to reduce their caffeine intake without abandoning hot drinks altogether. I remain unconvinced as to whether the acai berry included actually has a significant health or weight loss benefit, but since it's nice without any additional advantages, that would not affect my decision whether or not to buy this tea again in the future.